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The great adventure of Rayburn and V - michael sunderland and virginia barbisan

Hello everyone, welcome to this space.
This is a place that we thought initially for all our relatives and friends, for them to share with us this great experience and follow us during this amazing journey. But we would also like it to be a place for other travelers, for everyone curious about people, cultures, places, traditions, knowledge. For everyone passionate about life.

We're going to the other side of the world, but there's so much in between here and there that we couldn't think about missing it all. That's where our trip begins. We’re leaving London, where we spent the last two years, heading to New Zealand. We will see France, Italy, Egypt, Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

This is the story of our wanderings.

Virginia + Michael

“train window is like a TV without remote”
John Rayburn

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Joined on: September 25th 2008
Last Login: October 24th 2009

Blog Entries: 50
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by The great adventure of Rayburn and V, order by Date newest first.

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
July 31st 2009

TAUPO Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Taupo

Steam rising
at Orakei Korako

31.07.09 In the last few days we haven’t been thinking about anything else. Despite what most of you may think, we were really in need of an holiday, an escape, a break, call it as you like. Our weekend away. So because we are on holiday, this morning we don’t want to rush. It takes little time to pack all we need, a brief stop to buy some food, and a last one to fill in the tank and check the car. We’re driving on the SH1 but I’m still not sure where we’re going. The weather looks uncertain but we [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
February 8th 2009

WAITANGI DAY AT MT COOK Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Mount Cook National Park

the family at mt cook

06.02.09 The night spent attending Classical Sparks at Hagley Park got us a bit tired and waking up this morning has been a bit of a struggle. In two hours we are finally ready to go. After two tries to pack everything in the car we realized we were probably overloaded for a weekend journey, only to find out later as usual, that we were still missing something! Soon we’re heading south on the HS1 under a hot sun. A first brief stop we had to make it at a Pack’n’Save to get some food we were meant to buy last [View Full Entry]

The stunning view of Mt Cook from the campsite

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
January 2nd 2009

NEW YEAR SOUTH ISLAND Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Marlborough

Ferns

30.12.08 It’s sunny and warm. Absolutely lovely. Rare stains of white clouds give some joy to an otherwise blue dome. We’re driving north on a sole strip of tarmac that unwinds between yellow hills and dark green patches of conifers. Together with the electric line, the road is the only sign of man’s presence. I’m thinking about the summers of my youth spent in the Alps with my family, the white river beds almost dry. We stop for lunch in Kaikoura, a small town on the sea famous for whale watching. We buy some fish & chips, and sit on the [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
December 18th 2008

SINGAPORE Asia » Singapore

White spheres

18.12.08 Km travelled 21453 The 15th at night we’ve been sitting outside the guesthouse waiting for a car to pick us up and take us to Georgetown. In the meanwhile the man in the car was waiting for us along the road. After a while he finally waved and we realized we’ve been sitting there waiting for each other. He was quite a talkative man, and his son, on the other end very quiet, was sitting beside him. In Georgetown we got on a minivan that took us to the bus station. The journey to Singapore lasted more than 13 hours. [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
December 14th 2008

PENANG - BATU FERRINGHI Asia » Malaysia » Penang » Batu Ferringhi

A monkey playing with food and rubbish

14.12.08 Km travelled 20854 Our stay in Penang is close to its end. I'll be very honest, it's a place I definitely won't recommend. The journey from Koh Samui has not been the most pleasant. It's been actually fine up to Hat Yai, then we got on a mini bus with an horrible driver, on an endless struggle to reach Penang. It was already past nine at night when, after long queues and continuous changes on the way to drop off people here and there, he left us in an unknown street of Georgetown and went away without even a word. [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
December 8th 2008

KO SAMUI - BEACH BEACH BEACH Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Samui

Hard life

01.12.08 Km travelled 19811 Luciano and Pamela are already sitting at the table when we arrive. I'm still very sick but I eat my breakfast because we don't know when we'll be able to get some food today. We learn that our travelling mates are Argentinian but live in Barcelona. As many Argentinians they have Italian passports as their families come originally from Italy. When we're ready to leave it's time to thank Erich for everything, and particularly for his advice. We all have bulky backpacks and it's hard to fit all into the car. I sit in the front sit [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
November 30th 2008

SIEM REAP - ANGKOR WAT DAY 2 Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap

Sun rising over Sras Srang

30.11.08 Today we have a tuk tuk all for ourselves, that will take us around to see the other temples. But there's no discount on the time, 4.30am as usual! We are soon ready to leave and the driver is ready, so we jump on and go into the dark. We definitely underestimated the cold of the wind at such an early time, so we freeze ourselves on the way to Sras Srang. It's only few minutes after 5.00 when we get there and it's still all dark, but we'll wait here for the sunrise. We walk, with a torch to [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
November 29th 2008

SIEM REAP - ANGKOR WAT DAY 1 Asia » Cambodia » North » Siem Reap

Bridge to the South Gate

28.11.08 Km travelled 19497 Cambodia has its own timing as well. The bus that was supposed to pick us up at 8.00 arrives at 8.45. The bus is a bit crappy but I like the driver and the roads in Cambodia are not very busy. With all the stops, the journey to Siem Reap takes six hours. I'm quite glad we got some food at the supermarket, because the place where we stop for lunch doesn't exactly look inviting. The road is pretty empty, apart from some fully packed vans decorated with people on top, and school kids on bicycles around [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
November 27th 2008

PHNOM PENH Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh

Monk walking along the Royal Palace

25.11.08 Km travelled 19182 Time to go. Our visit to Vietnam for this time is at the end. It's not yet the time for me to express my thoughts on this experience, I'm still meditating. We leave quite early and the journey to Phnom Penh will take us seven hours. We meet other travellers, we get bored together waiting at the border, we set foot together for the first time in the Kingdom of Cambodia. They are a couple of Scottish, a kiwi ex pat girl, and a Swedish girl. It's always good to have some mates for a trip like [View Full Entry]

By The great adventure of Rayburn and V
November 27th 2008

CHOEUNG EK AND TUOL SLENG - THE KILLING FIELDS Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh

Axe wound on one of the skulls

“Even in this 20th century, on Kampuchean soil the clique of Pol Pot criminals had committed a heinous genocidal act. They massacred the population with atrocity in a large scale, it was more cruel than the genocidal act committed by Hitler fascists. With the commemorative stupa in front of us, we imagine that we are hearing the grievous voice of the victims who were beaten by Pol Pot men with canes, bamboo stumps or heads of hoes, and of the ones who were stabbed with knives or swords. Imagining the horrifying scenes and the panic. Stricken faces of the people who [View Full Entry]

Picture of blindfolded and bound remains

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The great adventure of Rayburn and V - michael sunderland and virginia barbisan

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